Modi Naturals planning to enter ready-to-cook food, snacks segments

Modi Naturals to advertise more to increase brand visibility, with its ad-budget increasing 70% in the current fiscal

Modi Naturals launched Pipo, a popcorn brand last month, and aims to keep it in the indulgent food space, yet healthy, by keeping it gluten-free.

Modi Naturals Limited, known for its edible oil brand Oleev, is in expansion mode. It is planning to enter the ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food product segments as well as into the snacks category. It currently sells olive oil under the Oleev brand with a sales turnover of ₹200 crore. The brand was launched in 2013.

“The idea was always to build a holistic fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company,” said Akshay Modi, director, Modi Naturals, a company based in Delhi. However, he decline to share details on the product categories the company is exploring since it is still under research.

The company launched Pipo, a popcorn brand last month, and aims to keep it in the indulgent food space, yet healthy, by keeping it gluten-free. “Today, you cannot have taste without health or health without taste. The two have to merge”, said Modi. It plans to launch more products under the Pipo brand in the packaged food category.

While Pipo will be distributed pan-India by August, Modi says new products will be launched every quarter.

A year ago, Modi Naturals launched Olivana Wellness, a body oil brand in the health and wellness space. Having built up distribution networks in the first five years, the company is now expanding its geographical footprint. “It takes about 3-5 years to find your footing. Now that the team is mature, we can take it to the next level,” said Modi.

While it serves most cities and towns in the northern states, even those with a population as less as 50,000, its distribution in the southern states is weak. It plans to recruit more sales people to improve distribution in the south. It is also focusing on recruiting more people in innovation and market research to understand what consumers want and new product lines to expand into.

To increase brand visibility, the company will also advertise more, with its ad-budget increasing 70% in the current fiscal, said Modi. Increasing sampling activity to convince customers that its products are suitable for Indian cooking is also a priority. He plans to roll out all these changes and build a product portfolio for each brand in the next 3-5 years. “From a low base, we can grow faster, and I see no reason why we can’t keep growing 30-40% a year,” he said.